A Wonderful Nightmare
by Ayame Haibara-san
Summary: A girl enters the strange yet familiar world of Detective Conan and adopts the name Emiko Kiyomi. First FanFic
1. Silent Friendship

**_Author's Note- Please realise that this is my first FanFic... There are a few just sitting in my computer, so I've combined them, and started a new story. _**

**_I do NOT own Detective Conan._**

The young-looking girl lifted her head to see the strangers that were staring into her expressions. A small part of her had wanted to greet them, perhaps in a childlike way, but the other told her to stay silent. So she did. She brushed past them briefly and disappeared into the crowd of students, her brownish-black hair swaying as she walked.

Conan, Ai, Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi were astonished, if anything. As small children, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta ignored what had happened in less than 5 seconds, but Conan and Ai thought otherwise. Both had a strange premonition about the child.

"Oh, come on, Conan-kun and Ai-chan! We'll be late if we don't hurry." Ayumi grabbed their arms and dragged them along, catching up with Genta and Mitsuhiko.

They were still, however, walking at a fairly leisurely pace. The lockers were in sight now, but the Detective Boys diverted their attention to the girl placing her shoes in a fairly orderly manner, just some tens of metres before them.

"That girl… Ignoring the Detective Boys like that…" Genta commented as the entered through the school's main entrance.

"She's probably new," Ai commented as the small group headed towards their lockers.

"I hope she can join us then, she seems to be nice." Ayumi chirped enthusiastically.

The Detective Boys stopped talking for a minute as they opened their respective locker doors and changed their footwear.

"Nice…" Genta repeated. "She's probably stuck-up and downright arrogant."

"You said the same thing about Ai-chan, but she's actually really kind!" Ayumi responded, slipping on her final slipper.

"Let's hope for the best then." Conan finally joined the conversation. "But we need to head to class first."

With that, the Detective Boys packed their bags and started walking to their classroom. Except Ai, who stayed behind, looking out the corner of her eye, focused on the girl that had brushed past them that morning.

"Ai-chan!" Ayumi called, turning around to see the member they had left behind.

"Oh." Ai muttered, slightly surprised, and rushed to catch up with them.

The corridor had been refurnished lately, Ai noted. Throughout her absence the last week, a lot of construction must have taken place. I was now decorated with children's drawings that were framed, in neat black frames, on the newly-painted wall. It was a sight of pleasure to Ai, as she traced her fingers along the walls, something worth reliving her childhood for.

"Hi." The unnamed girl took Ai by surprise as she walked past again.

"Morning." Ai greeted in return.

They were side-by-side, walking to their classroom, with the Detective Boys in front by some metres. The girl had a friendly face, Ai noted, brown eyes and black hair. The girl seemed to be just as surprised by Ai as Ai was by her. It was a strange form of surprise the girl showed, she had a more excited look.

Ai turned right into her classroom.

"Haibara-san, please take a seat," Kobayashi-sensei looked to Ai as she entered.

Ai darted her eyes to where the girl was and trailed off to her seat beside Conan. She put her bag down in her usual manner and started unpacking her stationery.

"Alright, class. Let's all be quiet because there is a new student today!" Kobayashi-sensei clasped her hands together.

Small chatter broke out among the students, but all noise seized as the girl entered the classroom.

"It's nice to meet you all. My name is Emiko Kiyomi." She bowed slightly and wrote her name on the board.

Conan and Ai exchanged glances, confirming their suspicions. They looked to the front of the classroom, where the girl that had brushed past them this morning walked to an empty desk which no-one sat beside.

"Everyone, please be nice to Emiko-chan today, she recently moved from England, and is housed by a Japanese friend of her parents." Kobayashi-sensei announced. "Let's start our lessons now!"

**_Ayame Haibara-san: That's it for the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Please do review :D_**


	2. Unshared Secrets

**_Author's Note: Did you enjoy the first chapter? I hope you did! Onto the Second Chapter now..._**

**_I still do not own Detective Conan..._**

"Alright, class dismissed." Kobayashi-sensei said, tidying her notebooks and pieces of paper.

All the children tidied up their books and put them in their bags. Each eyed their best friend and started to talk. Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko, however, had other plans.

"You can sit with us at lunch by Genta's table!" Ayumi approached the new girl.

"I heard we have eel rice today!" Genta smiled from ear to ear as he talked with Mitsuhiko.

"We're not here to talk about food, Genta. Kiyomi-san could join the Detective Boys!" Mitsuhiko answered.

Emiko had just cleared her table. She stood up, facing the trio.

"I don't mind joining your group, but…" Emiko eyed Conan and Ai, who had been staring at her throughout the entire school day.

"That's really great!" Ayumi took Emiko by the hand and led her to the desk next to Genta's.

Ai was surprised at how fast the new girl became friends with the Detective Boys. Kobayashi-sensei had allowed her to switch seats between class-time and lunch, and now Emiko was chatting happily to Ayumi about her parent's friend. Ai studied the girl's facial expressions, she had a secret. Ai just knew she did.

"So I currently live with Yukiko-san. Oneesan's staying at her home, because she is on a long vacation from America and Subaru-san had moved away last summer." Emiko explained to Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko, who were listening intently.

"That's so cool, Kiyomi-san!" Mitsuhiko said. "Oneesan's really nice…"

The conversation caught Conan's attention. Yukiko Kudo? That was his mother the girl was staying with. He wanted to prove Emiko wrong but he was a detective… It was true that Subaru-san had moved away last summer, and also true that Yukiko had been planning to stay. But the Detective Boys have been gone so long on that case, they had missed out on a week of school and a month of normal life.

"I know Oneesan! She's my distant relative!" Conan spoke in a childish voice.

"She said to invite you all to her house this afternoon." Emiko smiled and started eating her eel rice.

The Detective Boys settled themselves comfortably in the Kudo residence library, each whispering about how big it was. By pure chance, Ran and Sonoko were visiting too, but for another reason. Being with Yukiko made Emiko feel a bit better. She was the only one that knew her secret, and she would keep it, even from her own son.

"Can you please ask Shinichi? Dad's really stuck on the recent case and he hasn't made a breakthrough in two weeks!" Ran asked Yukiko, who was sitting in an armchair.

Conan half-laughed at the last comment and started wondering around the section of the library where all the Sherlock Holmes books were located. Meanwhile, the rest of the Shounen Tantei Dan were having a lovely time playing around the large room.

"I think Emiko-chan should have a nickname." Ayumi suggested. She had grown to the habit of speaking once in a while to break the silence and laughter.

"You can call me Emi-chan or Mimi-chan." Emiko replied.

Conan was now sitting himself comfortably, reading _A Study in Scarlet _by the author he had named himself after. He smiled a bit.

"Oi. Death magnet." Ai stopped in the middle of their game, disturbing Conan- who was in his reading aura. "Kogoro-san found a case all by himself."

"Huh. They say it involves Kaitou Kid too." Conan murmured.

"You were listening?" Mimi-chan asked, slightly taken aback by the detective's reasoning ability.

_He's going to realize the secret if I don't do something about it. _

"Yeah." Conan replied half-heartedly, "I multitask."

Emiko turned her head towards Ran and Yukiko's direction. She knew them so well, yet it all seem like a dream- or a nightmare- come true. Ran had seemed to be explaining all she could about the case- it seemed Eri was involved in a way too- and that the Sleeping Kogoro's reputation- or worse- was on the line. She smiled faintly, before heading back into the Detective Boys' game of Tip.

Ai's feeling of familiarity towards the girl was getting stronger. Her carefree personality made her all the more suspicious. Ai narrowed her eyes. There was something off about the way she talked, yet Ai had no trouble understanding her speech patterns. It was as if she was speaking another language she could well understand.

"**You're hiding something, Mimi.**" Ai stated. Her eyes staring into fhers.

"**So that's what you sound like when you speak English, Sherry.**" Emiko remarked.

The game of chase had come to an abrupt end, with the two girls speaking another language. Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko were straining to understand, all had their ears pinpointed towards Emiko and Ai. They soon realized what language they were speaking.

"**So you know.**" Conan joined in.

"**It's hard to forget.**" Emiko had a faraway look in her eyes.

_There's more to this girl. Still more._

"**Besides, great detective, there is a murder case on our hands. Do you plan to loiter around and do nothing about it?**" Emiko asked, her eyes glowing a strange shade of yellow.

"You know more. Don't you?" Ai spoke her thoughts, this time in Japanese.

"Yes. I do. Much more, but like me, it would be hard for you to forget." Emi-chan said.

The Detective Boys had other ideas about what they were talking about.

"Conan-kun, you aren't asking Kiyomi-san for tips on that video game, are you?" Genta asked.

"N-no…" Conan stuttered, with an if-you-only-knew expression on his face.

"Alright, Conan-kun! Let's go home now!" Ran ushered Conan after she had just ended her conversation with Yukiko.

"Oneesan, can Mimi-chan go too?" Emiko asked, playing the 'puppy eyes' card.

_Or maybe that girl's just a kid._

_**Ayame Haibara-san: There. The second chapter. I hope you enjoyed it (the paragraphs looked so much longer in my word doc). Please review!**_


	3. Ochre Sunsets

_**Author's Note- Good day to you all and thank you to all the reviewers! This chapter took shorter than planned to write, but don't expected me to update so often...**_

_**You know this bit... I don't own Detective Conan etc. etc. etc.**_

"Wait. Oneesan." Conan asked Yukiko grudgingly in a commanding voice. "How do you know this girl?"

"Edogawa-kun." Ai whispered quietly, her eyes foreshadowed by her fringe. "Sometimes silence is the better option. Your curiosity is a cursed gift, use it wisely."

"Huh?" Conan looked back to see Ai tidying up the shelves of his library, her head dipped.

"I'm sure she has a reason not tell you. Just like you have a reason not to tell Ran." Ai grabbed Conan's elbow and dragged him out.

Meanwhile, Emiko, who had been listening to their conversation intently but unnoticed, was leaning against a hidden shelf. _Yes. Ai Haibara. You are right. Some secrets are better hidden._

As the three people- Ran, Conan and Emiko- walked up the stairs to the Mouri Detective Agency, they heard some noise coming from Kogoro's office. At first, of course, they thought he had a client, but the gunshots said otherwise. Ran was the first to react, breaking the door down with her karate.

But inside the office was no-one. Not Kogoro nor a client. The workspace had been littered with beer cans, and Yoko was singing on the television at full volume.

"What's this, Ran-neechan?" Conan asked, picking up a piece of paper.

Instead, Emiko came and looked at the sheet of paper.

"**A message from your newest enemy:" **Emiko read, "But the rest is blurred horribly."

"You sure know how to speak and read English, Mimi-chan!" Ran commented casually.

"Huh. D-Do I?" Emiko was lost for words.

"She must have picked it off her parents." Conan pressed on, scrummaging through the desk and the shelves.

_Of course, there is a reason behind my every statement. I have a feeling this case will be harder than usual. That is why this girl, whoever she truly is, must have her identity hidden. Temporarily. The truth can't get out now… For all I know, she's dangerous. Putting her in danger may get everyone else- perhaps even the innocent elementary school kids- involved with whoever she is involved with. Perhaps even the Black Organisation._

Emiko's eyes widened in surprise at Conan's last statement. She began to search the room just like the little detective, except for a different reason. She was really not doing much to help at all- her true aim remained uncertain. However, as she walked past the meitantei, she fidgeted.

"I don't know where you're getting at, but **thank you**." Emiko muttered.

With that, she bowed slightly and continued her pointless search, pretending as if nothing had come out of her mouth.

"Ran-neechan. Did Ojisan usually have wine?" Conan asked, his voice sounding childish as it should.

"Of course not Conan-kun! The old man never drunk any wine 'cos it was 'too expensive'!" Emiko said casually aloud, before covering her mouth like she just spilled something important.

"How do you know that, Mimi-chan?" Ran asked.

"I told her at school!" Conan waved his arms about, directing Ran's attention to him.

"Conan-kun!" Ran chided him. "You know better than to tell everything!"

_He might have chirped something about Shinichi…_ Ran blushed faintly.

"Gomen!" Conan dipped his head in apology.

Emiko was still standing in the corner, horrified. She had feared that he would know.

The sunlight shone through the glass window, casting a long shadow. The girl who was quite short for her grade, with brown hair and black eyes, stared at the ground, and the golden light that shown on it. The same light that reflected the true start of her story. The shattered glass, the crushed beer cans, and a television with no signal. Three characters stood in the ruined office, but they were no more than black shadows silhouetted by the setting sun.

_Why did he protect the secret he did not even know? The detective knows more than the outer layer, that's for sure… But what should I do? I can't possibly reply on him for all the times I accidentally spill something… I have to do this myself._

Her black eyes turned to stare at the beautiful orange clouds.

**_Ayame Haibara-san: Well, that's the end of this chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it! Please review, everyone!_**


	4. Truthfully Beginning

**_Author's Note: I hope the characters weren't that out of character... Here's the next chapter. I wonder who else will have a first appearance in my FanFic. Read on!_**

**_T^T Still do not own Detective Conan..._**

The next morning in the Mouri Detective Agency started quite… More or less normally.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Conan stared at the seemingly innocent girl staring at him.

"I've stayed the night, Tantei-kun. Don't you remember? Ran-neechan told me it was too 'dangerous' to walk by myself, although I do believe she was more afraid than I." Emiko chuckled slightly before returning to her serious expression, then back to her casual one. "I heard her murmuring about Shinichi-niichan while she was asleep."

Conan blushed slightly, getting up from his bed.

"You're blushing." Emiko stated.

"It's the sunrise." Conan lied.

With that, their brief conversation ended. Emiko left the room curtly.

Conan reluctantly sat up, fixing his watch. 7:12 am. He frowned at the time, had he slept in? The Detective Boys were arranging a get-together in the morning. He had better get ready… He took his bow-tie and mobile phone as he rushed to the bathroom.

The three people sat together in the dining-room. Emiko was fiddling with her congee, Conan was eating as quickly as he could. Ran had just sat down with worried eyes. The trio were all thinking the same thing.

_What happened yesterday?_

Emiko was the first to talk. Well, she was just trying to break the awkward silence that filled the room.

"I heard…" Emiko started, only to be disrupted by the phone.

"I'll get it!" Conan rushed to the phone and picked it up.

In Ekoda High School, two students were sitting more or less facing each other in the library. The male student had just got up to return one of his favourite books- _Arsene Lupin_- to its shelf. Before long, he was back again, this time somehow taking out a newspaper out of his sleeve.

"Hey, Aoko, I need to erm…" Kaito scratched his head for an excuse.

You see, the two students had just participated in a special fundraiser event organized by the student body, especially for Valentine's Day. It did not surpass Aoko's expectations that Kaito would be dumb enough to enter the duo in a couple's contest. Strangely enough though, he dressed up as the infamous Kaitou Kid and won the top prize- chocolates. The whole school was plagued with rumours of the 'perfect couple' for weeks and the last thing Aoko would want to bring was that embarrassing day, and that jerk of a thief. That was why they had decided on a punishment- well, she had- to spend one whole day in the library, with no magic nor tricks.

"I saw that, you know!" Aoko grabbed Kaito's wrist angrily. "You're not going anywhere!"

"I'm really sorry about embarrassing you in that contest, but the chocolates the cooking class made were delicious!" Kaito said, wincing at Aoko's strength.

"No excuses. No magic. Nothing." Aoko ordered, placing Kaito's wrist firmly on the table. "Did I mention I have full access to the _mop _cupboard?"

_There's a MOP cupboard? I'm dead, so dead… _

"But I really have to go to the… Wait- I need to make a phone call!" Kaito finally came up with an excuse.

_If I call some random number and pretend they were in trouble, I might just get out of this!_

Kaito grinned gleefully and took out his phone. "Won't be a minute!"

Conan, meanwhile was on the phone with a complete stranger.

"So your name is Kaito Kuroba-san?" Conan asked. "I don't think Ojisan ever had a client called that. Are you calling for help on a case?"

_Out of everyone… Tantei-kun, I'm sure it's him. And I've rung a detective agency. What should I do?_

"Ahem." Kaito switched to a woman's voice. "Yes, I'm Asami Koyama. Tantei- I mean, child."

_Oh no, Aoko's on to me._

"Oh!" Conan said, grabbing his bowtie. "This is Mouri Kogoro, what do you need help with?"

"Oh no, the person's on to me!" Kaito ran from the coming mop. "Can I go to your office to talk about this? I'm terribly sorry for the trouble!"

_Right. My last chance. What should the great thief do? Yes. Run to the train station and then to the detective's place. Aoko's not gonna follow me all the way there! Not with her mop…_

**_Ayame Haibara-san: Was that a good way to end the chapter? Hehe... What will happen next, I wonder? Please review!_**


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